Thursday, April 30, 2009

Speaking in Tongues

What is the need for tongues? Why? Is it for me today? With so many different opinions on the gift of tongues it makes in the most devoted believer in tongues doubt the need for them in the church world today. However, a question to ponder, would we have the church we have today without the infilling of the spirit on the day of pentecost. It was this event that encouraged, gave faith, gave hope, and empowered the disciples to go out a spread the message of Christ. It was the faithful 120 that stayed that received power from on high. And just maybe in the world today it is just that 120 in sense that are faithful to the cause of tongues and the spiritual gifts. 
 
By 120 I mean the pentecostal denomination that believes in tongues is basically all that is left this includes: Church of God, Assemblies of God, Church of God of Prophecy, Independent Pentecostal Churches, Holiness Church, and many others that are unnamed. Maybe it is not the fact that so few believe but it is that there are only a few left because that is the way that it is supposed to be, just a few who want more of God, and want a God they can feel. By NO MEANS am I saying that theses churches or denominations are better than Catholics, Methodist, Baptist, and others, but what I am stating is there could be an argument for the fact that there were only 120 left and there seems to be a small number of tongue believes left here today in our world. 
There are 600 million people in the world today that believe in speaking in tongue according to church surveys and numbers. To say that it is not real and to say that its not for today is to say that those 600 million people living today are liars and everyone before them that spoke in tongues are were taught lies as well. 
You may ask were is the scripture to back all this up and show me were tongues are used after the event of Act 2, because no where else in Acts is it that important because it is not mentioned. Well, one could argue the fact was they are were filled and so there was no need to say anything else, they wrote with the presupposition that believers that would read would already be filled or would have a similar experience. How was Luke to know the Catholic Church would arise and it would take 100s of years before Martin Luther would challenge the "faith by deeds, and establish an entire different denomination. 
 
As for the question where is scripture on tongues in the bible and if so why is it for me. Seek out the word of God, look up and down and find one place were it says, this is for the disciples only and not for people of today especially people in 2009. Tongues in throughout the New Testament Paul speaks of tongues and the tongues of men in 1 Corinthians 13 and from there on in chapters 14, 15, and 16. Only to name a few places were it is in the bible. Throughout Acts the filling of the Holy Spirit or what is called "Baptized in Holy Spirit" is mentioned many times. You can't say that tongues are not in the bible because they are, the entire book of Acts hedges on the fact that they (the disciples) are waiting on the move of the Holy Spirit. There would likely be no Acts without this infilling, and probably in Paul or John writing Revelation. Because ladies and gentlemen it takes boldness, and not boldness they received to be killed for Jesus to die for him, to speak for him, to write for him, and to even die like he did (Peter) came from this one single encounter with the Holy Spirit, the infilling of the Holy Spirit in their lives in Acts 2. 
So since you don't believe in it, you can't say it isn't real and that you don't believe in it, because you wouldn't have parts of the New Testament without it. Nathan are you saying without this the book of the bible would not have been written? Yes and No, I am saying it is very possible we would not have the book of the bibles written by disciples without this encounter because remember Peter and his denial. In fact, all of them deined him, why not deny him again and again. What changed it for them? IT WAS THE COMFORTER. It was the fact what they believed became real to them. God final showed them the power that he has when you allow him to move and take over. Without this experience it is VERY VERY possible that they would not have ever written Acts or would they meant Paul or ever been able to stand for him in the midst of facing death!!!



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